Black Dog Names

While the name of your new pup is very important, something else may cause that name to pale in comparison...that "something else" could be his skills and talents which can be utilized to help others, either as he matures or after he is full grown.  While you consider the name for that new puppy, I challenge you to consider, research and remember those in the canine search teams called upon to help after the terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001.  While these dogs were many, and some of them fit the theme of this guide in that they were black or dark colored dogs, all of them contributed their special "noses" to the task of finding survivors in the rubble from the collapse of the Twin Towers, in that field in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon on 9/11/01.  So, while our featured "famous" spotlights are only the dogs having black or dark coat colors, let us not forget the entire group of canines who gave us their loyalty and protection as they sought to help others at the site of the worse terrorist disaster on U.S. soil to date.  Let's look at several of them now...let's salute some of those brave heroes! 

Appollo, a German Shepherd, was the first canine called to the scene at ground zero on 9/11/01.  He was, at that time, about 9 years old and, on September 11, 2001, he was supposed to receive the 2001 ACE Award for Canine Excellence in Law Enforcement but he was called away to be the first  search and rescue canine at the scene at ground zero.  He passed away at age 14 in 2006.

Tara, a 6 year old black Labrador Retriever from Massachusetts, arrived with her handler the evening of 9/11 and remained on duty, helping to locate survivors for eight days. Kaiser, a 2 year old German Shepherd from Indiana, was also called into service on 9/11 where he searched high and low through the rubble for survivors. Abigail, another black Labrador who was called into service in the evening of 9/17/01, where she continued to search for 10 days. Merlyn, a black Labrador, was deployed to Ground Zero with his handler on 9/24/01, where he and his handler searched during the night shift for 5 days. Red, a 6 year old black Labrador from Annapolis, Maryland, was deployed at the Pentagon from 9/16/17 to 9/27/17 as part of the Bay Area Recovery Canines. Tuff, a black Labrador, arrived in New York at 11 PM on the day of the attack but, still determinedly was on duty searching early the next morning!

Let the records show that there were nearly 100 canines involved in search and rescue activities in the events of 9/11/01, in New York, Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon.  Let the records also show that they gave all they had for the humans they rescued, while breathing the foul and toxic air surrounding the attack sites and braving the dangers associated with the aftermath of the attacks.  I can think of no better way to honor some of those canines than to name your dearly beloved puppy after any of them, regardless of color, breed or gender!